Inglorious Bastard Potatoes: A Savory History Served Up with a Side of Spelling
Sweet potatoes or white potatoes?
I’ve always been more of a sweet potato girl than a white potato fan. After digging into the mashed-up history of these two tubers, I realized my preference comes down to my innate superior taste (of course!).
Did you know the word potato originally referred to what we now call a sweet potato? According to Etymonline, sweet potatoes were introduced to Europe and North America before white potatoes. The term potato was borrowed from the Spanish patata, and derived from the Taino word batata. (Let’s sing it: “You say patata, I say batata!” 🎵)
When white potatoes arrived on the scene, they were not named for any botanical or geographical connection but after their resemblance to sweet potatoes. White potatoes grew prolifically and were less expensive to produce in America and were initially called Virginia potatoes. These became the type fed to the sailors. Over time, their lack of sweetness and clear inferiority earned them the nickname bastard potatoes.
But even with my refined sweet potato-loving palate, I’m not about to turn down mashed white potatoes this Thanksgiving. Pass those tasty bastards down the table—and don’t forget the damn gravy!
How to Make Words Ending in O Plural
Here is the general convention for pluralizing words ending in <consonant + o>: Add <-es> if the word is of English origin or is so thoroughly entrenched in English and commonly used that it seems to be an English word:
- potato + es → potatoes
- tomato + es → tomatoes
- embargo + es → embargoes
- go + es → goes
- do + es → does
And no, there’s no <e> at the end of potato—don’t let Dan Quayle tell you otherwise!
Reasons to choose <-s> instead of <-es>
Add <-s> to words ending in <o>:
- when words end in <vowel + o>: radios, videos
- when making an abbreviated word plural: photos, memos, combos, condos
- when a word is a proper name: Leos, Lombardos, Eskimos, Navajos
Speaking of spelling, are you up for a challenge?
Check out Spellable’s Matrix Mania for a daily word game that’ll test your spelling skills! Play now at spellableapp.com.
Share:
